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E39 (1997 - 2003) The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki

Good point. Yes. They just won't do the emissions report like the one I posted above.

I wonder what that will do to the price since they charge about $50 (give or take) for the complete test (including the so-called certificate which is nothing but an additional California tax).

Interestingly, when you get a 'smog only' inspection, they do the EXACT same test, but, since you can only go to smog-only stations, they actually charge you EXTRA (because they got you!).

That gouging is perfectly legal in California. In fact, a friend of mine went to a station that does any car, smog only or not, (they just can't fix 'em), and right there on the bill is the extra charge for the 'smog only' test - which is nothing more than a requirement from California - but - since it's a mandate - they get to gouge you for whatever they can.

I'm beginning to hate the laws of this state because they make no sense and don't even seem to be 'legal' (like the age-old smog impact fee, which California had to repeal and give everyone their money back, with interest.

All California cares about is taking money from us. rant>

In WA State the fee used to be $25 or $30 and dropped to $15 when they went to the simpler test using the OBDII port...the new test is much faster.

NOx goes up due to lack of recirculated exhaust, which BMW controls with valve timing.

Makes sense given the data. It would be exciting if year-to-year smog test results can indicate a leaking vanos seal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by granlund

15 and 25mph tests were done at much lower engine rpm compared to previous years. Why?

Dunno. Here in California, the mechanic puts a contraption on the throttle or presses on it manually and keeps it within a speed range shown on the computer display which he keeps his eye on all the time he's doing that while the rear wheels are on the 'treadmill'.

So, my guess is that there is a range and he stays within it - but the actual speed is reported. But that's just my guess. Others may actually know the answer!

That's good to know. We'll start reporting what happens come next January here in California.

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Last week, I had a long talk with Mike McCarthy (m+his-last-name@arb.ca.gov) about OBD codes in California.

Mike manages the CARB OBD program for California (626-771-3614).

He is a very knowledgeable guy who knows the entire history of FTP drive cycles, OBD test requrements, and smog test laws and regulations.

He provided more detail than I could handle (most of which went over my head), but, it's important to note that the legislature voted to allow OBD-only tests in California, but, the infrastructure won't be in place by January next year - and most likely won't be in place for a while.

Mike said 31 states do smog tests but California had to fight the EPA to do decentralized tests. The EPA wanted centralized tests - so California implemented the 'hybrid' system of 'test only' stations and 'test-and-repair stations' to meet the EPA requirements of centralization. For the past year, they have been rating smog test & smog test-and-repair stations, giving each a STAR rating.

Today, every two years you have to get a smog test at either a test-only station or at a test-and-repair station. But, he said, fraud is rampant, so they're going to mail you a note that requires you to go to a station with a high rating. The system isn't in place, but an example would be a five-star rating where in order to register, you can only go to a five-star rated test station. They are doing this to cut down on fraud.

Another thing he told me is that a California dyno smog test cycle is NOT the BMW FTP test, nor the federal FTP-75 test (details at http://dieselnet.com). It's a special shortened California-only version of the drive trace that works well on a dyno.

Mike also mentioned that it takes two cycles for a CEL to go on (first one gives the pending DTC); and it takes 3 complete drive cycles for the CEL to go out.

For more information, Mike suggested I contact smogcheck.ca.gov.

EDIT: For information on the OBD readiness monitors, I called the Department of Consumer affairs 800-952-5210 where you can actually talk to 'former mechanics' who are now 'technical advisors' or 'consumer assistance representatives' for the state of California who will discuss with you your smog test questions.

At the Department of Consumer Affairs, I spoke with "Marvin" who explained that, in California, a 1996 to 2000 vehicle can pass smog with 2 monitors not ready but that a 2001 to current vehicle can have only 1 monitor not ready and still pass smog tests. He said many technicians still fail the car because they want to have high STAR scores.

In addition, Marvin said that new OBD tests will check your air conditioning because they assume if your ac isn't working that you're leaking freon into the atmosphere just like they check your fuel system, again assuming vapors will leak out into the atmosphere. So it's not just engine emissions that are being monitored.

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Just got the car smogged but not familiar w/ the numbers on the smog testing. Was wondering if anyone can shed some light.

The part that is cut off NO (PPM) @ 15 mph is 0/25mph is 0.

Note: All California smog tests are currently run on a dyno but in the future, they'll use the OBD port instead of the tail-pipe sniffer. Here's my bimmer on the dyno for my last bi-annual test.

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Here are my results from earlier today. This test was done on chevron 91 octane. The tech noted how clean my emissions were. Impressive for having 213,000 miles and the original cats on my 540. It's interesting to see my numbers drop on this smog test compared to my last one.[IMG][/IMG]

Oil change less than 3k miles old.
Spark Plugs changed with NGK less than 5k miles.
Clean air filter.
No CEL lights.

Any suggestions?
Thanks

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about 8 gals of VP100 into a tank of Chevron 91, Lucas Synthetic + Mobil1 0w-40 in crankcase, misfire in cylinder #8 (though no CEL because I change the plug about once a month), new front O2 sensors back in April

For the record, this useful information was posted today (California specific):

Quote:

Originally Posted by edjack

[ In California, by law] ... the buyer must receive from the seller a passed smog test dated no later than 90 days prior to sale, or the state will not issue a cert. The bind comes when the buyer has to get the car smogged after the sale, and before registration. If it fails, he has the privilege to spend whatever it takes to pass the test.

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For the record, we're about to get a California smog result for an E39 with a leaking VCG, which may be instructive ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unholy RC

Hi folks I just moved to California,the car is still on the moving van,and there were a few issues with the car that I could not get to before I moved, one was a valve cover gasket and the other was a power steering hose leak. My Question is will it pass the sniffer test with the valve cover gasket leak?

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I have 2002 (10/2001) BMW 530I, failed CA smog test on both 15mph and 25 mph test. I have all stock; use Costco 87 octane gas. The SMOG test failed due to engine light, here are Error codes P0313, P1083, P0135, P0155, P0171, P0174 on smog test sheet. I was able to read error codes by connecting to INPA (INPA v3.01/EDIABAS v6.4.3 Thanks David MC), please see attached. I cleared the error codes and took car for 50 miles spin and then connected to INPA to see if any error codes and unfortunately there are two (please see post). Please advice of what course of action I should try to fix these error codes. PLEASE HELP!!!

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Hello Everyone,
Need some help getting my 1997 540I to pass California Smog. I just failed my first smog inspection yesterday because my NOX reading was too high during the 15mph test. Here were my readings:

I put in a gallon of denatured alcohol into my gas tank which was a 1/4 full with 91 octane fuel, drove about 10 minutes hard on the freeway to heat up cats and then pulled directly into the smog station and inspection was performed immediately. As you all can see I was really close to passing except for the damn NO levels were slightly too high in the 15 mph test. I have read that if I install spark plugs one heat range cooler than stock that this can reduce the NOX readings by a couple of hundred. Does anyone know if this is true and if so what spark plugs would I use? I know that my car calls for either

Bosch # F7LDCR or

NGK # BKR6EK

Will it affect the performance of my car by installing a heat range cooler? Also would performing a Sea Foam decarbonizing treatment to my engine help to reduce the NOX readings enough to get me to pass by removing excess carbon build up? My car has close to 200K miles on it. I have only had it a few months but I can tell it has been well taken care of. Any help, advise would be tremendously appreciated. I do not want to have to buy new cats just because my NOX readings are slightly off for this stupid smog inspection. As much as I love California it is things like this that makes me really hate it at times. Thanks to all,

Vincent

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Last week, I had a long talk with Mike McCarthy at 626-771-3614 (m+hislastname@arb.ca.gov) about OBD codes in California.

Mike manages the OBD program for California. He had tons of details (most of which went over my head), but, it's important to note that the BMW FTP is 'not' the same as the EPA FTP (aka FTP-74) drive trace (Mike said more information is at dieselnet.com).

He said the BMW FTP can be considered a manufacturer-specified 'superset' which encompasses the EPA FTP-75 that all California cars must pass.

For example, the EPA 75 does 'not' have such long times for cold idle and it doesn't even have a second cold start. It has a 10 minute cooloff period in the cycle - but that's it for the engine being off. And, it doesn't even have the idle-in-gear stuff that the BMW drive trace has. Apparently it all started down in LA with a drive cycle of 1,372 seconds and then progressed to EPA control culminating with the EPA-72 spec and then the EPA-75 as described on http://dieselnet.com

Mike knew the history of all the OBD standards, from IM240 to ASM and then on to OBD.

Mike also knew the history of the OBD monitoring requirements. Specifically he confirmed that, in any one drive cycle, a pending code can be set once, and then the second code will trigger the MIL.

To reset the MIL, the code has to be NOT trigged in three complete drive cycles.

For more information, he suggested smogcheck.ca.gov

EDIT: For information on the OBD readiness monitors, I called the Department of Consumer affairs 800-952-5210 where you can actually talk to 'former mechanics' who are now 'technical advisors' or 'consumer assistance representatives' for the state of California who will discuss with you your smog test questions.

At the Department of Consumer Affairs, I spoke with "Marvin" who explained that, in California, a 1996 to 2000 vehicle can pass smog with 2 monitors not ready but that a 2001 to current vehicle can have only 1 monitor not ready and still pass smog tests. He said many technicians still fail the car because they want to have high STAR scores.

In addition, Marvin said that new OBD tests will check your air conditioning because they assume if your ac isn't working that you're leaking freon into the atmosphere just like they check your fuel system, again assuming vapors will leak out into the atmosphere. So it's not just engine emissions that are being monitored.

I called Mike McCarthy again at 626-771-3614 who said the OBD test machines are currently in beta testing.
He hopes they will pass their tests soon, in which case they can be sold to the test stations.
He hopes that will happen before the end of this year.
He also confirmed that cars can pass California smog with either one or two incomplete registers, depending on their year (as described in the quote above).
He did say that soon, the older (1996 to 2000) cars will be limited to one unset monitor (which can be any monitor other than the fuel evap test); and that the newer cars will be limited to zero unset monitors.

Mike also explained that many people go to the BAR refereee when a smog test station refuses to run the test due to unset monitors.
They just call the BAR referee, who, for free (except the $8.75 for the certificate), will smog check the vehicle at a local community college via a scheduled appointment.

With your license plate, name, and address, you can schedule a free smog-check referee appointment by calling 800-622-7733x1(English)2(agent) and telling them that you have unfilled registers, and nobody will smog you. The local college here where they do that free smog check is Evergreen Community College, and an appointment takes about a week (in my experience). Total cost is $8.25 for the certificate (the smog check, which normally costs around $60) is free.

Since I lost my registration, I called BAR at 800-952-5210x1(English)x0(representative)x1(smog) who simply asked for my license plate and told me that I had to go to the STAR & TEST ONLY stations.
It bothers me that California is so screwed up that they make US pay for their silly system; but it is what it is, and I, as a single person, can't do anything about it.
The only good news out of all this is that the OBD tests are coming soon.

Here, for the record, is the DMV site explaining a couple components the lousy system (but, in reality, it's a system put together by bureaucrats who don't know how to put systems together without the public paying through the nose for their inefficient system):
- http://www.dmv.org/ca-california/smo...og-Inspections

I called some local STAR-certified smog check stations to find hours & prices (sorted by price, out the door, including the $8.25 certificate):

$48 408-371-6430

$50 408-356-4188

$50 408-374-0140

$50 408-227-1575

$60 408-871-9484

$85 408-399-3927

See also:
- How to identify all BMW computer-specific OBDII DTC diagnostic fault codes (1) & how to better understand the key EPA federal test procedure (FTP) concept of the BMW SES "drive cycle" (1) & how to diagnose a typical BMW E39 engine misfire (1) or a sporadic-temperature-change cold-engine intermittent misfire (1) (2) & what you can expect for E39 smog emissions test results (1) & obtaining the pending or diagnostic trouble code (DTC) using free or freeware scans (1) [except in California or Hawaii (1) (2)] or where to get the cheapest reasonable OBDII scanner in the world (1) (2) or a better overall scanner (1) or the best BMW diagnostic tools (1) (2) (3) & a template of what to tell people from the Republik of Kalifornia who need to do an OBC diagnostic scan (1).

EDIT: The bimmer passed smog tests at the referee station (total cost, $8.25), and, they didn't even check the registers!

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Note: Only the top test was using 91AKI fuel; the rest were on 87AKI Costco or Safeway gasoline.

Attached Thumbnails

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I came here looking to help someone answer the question of all the things that might happen if/when they remove their ABS control module (even including for up to a week or so after they put it back), and, since it wasn't here, I'm putting it here, for future reference.

I always wondered about the odometer. Especially since mine quit working (predictably) when I removed the ABS control module from the vehicle for a rebuild.

As you said, nobody knows what happens if the "computers" get so screwed up that they begin to fail due to the conflicting information.

I do know that without the ABS control unit installed, the following score of items will occur:
- Brake/DSC/ABS trifecta solid yellow lights on (any combination possible when in the early stages)
- Service Engine Soon (SES) solid yellow light lit (on the cluster)
- No ABS
- No traction control
- No speedometer
- No odometer
- No tripmeter
- No cruise control
- Diagnostic trouble code DTC P0500
- No possibility of passing (California at least) smog inspections
- No automatic door locks (if set)
- No GPS (if you have navigation)
- No mileage calculations
- No fuel consumption calculations
- No range indications
- No speed-sensitive radio
- No speed-sensitive wipers
- Erratic fuel gauge (especially when near empty)
- Erratic transmission shifting (reputedly but I'm not sure why)

See also:
- How to physically test & repair the Bosch ABS control module (1) & how to diagnose the BMW amber ABS BRAKE DSC/ASC trifecta or bifecta (1) & what are all known options when your ABS control module is bad (1) & why you want to only buy oem wheel speed sensors (1) & how to remove and replace the four BMW E39 ABS related WSS wheel speed sensors (1) & which wss innervates the speedometer (1) & explanations by 540iman as to why the fancy diagnostic tools always fail to properly diagnose the trifecta or bifecta (1) & where to get the fancy schmancy diagnostic tools for free once you're aware of their limitations (1) & why it's probably not the ABS hydraulic pump failing (1) & how to properly test the BPS brake pressure sensor (1) & how to properly test and replace the steering angle sensor (1) & Quick99Si's explanation of why the 10-minute wheel speed sensor diode-action quick test doesn't always work, especially on non-OEM wheel speed sensors (1) & what's this about the P0500 setting the SES (1) & why you want to wait a week before getting a smog test after removing your ABS control module (1) &, if you really want to try, how to attempt to disable the ABS/DSC but keep the speedometer and mpg cluster readouts (1)

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for states with zero tolerance for modifications, the likelihood of failing a mechanical or SMOG inspection is high.

Does anyone know what California law is in this regard?

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